R/C Guru's: need help!

[rifleman]

I'd like to get into r/c racing, but I'm a total noob when it comes to r/c. I was thinking maybe start off with a used nitro traxxas truck? Owners groups, links, stores, etc.. would be helpful.





Thanks!
Adam

[jah871]

search for traxxas, theres a owners group with forums and classifieds. i think it www.traxxas.com or www.traxxasownersgroup.com. search for it and u will find it.

[Sir. Foxalot]

Finally anouther RCer and paintballer!! OK Traxxas is a great place to start. Go to that owners group and start asking around. I have a friend that is selling some Traxxas elextric rustlers if you are interested. But most of all if this is your first RC makes sure you buy it as a kit!. I know that sounds wierd but you really should know you car inside and out like a paintball gun:) . And the instructions are fairly easy to deal with. Lets see what else... Have fun!! If you want to know I race 2 cars right now:
HPI RS4 Nitro Racer
HPI RS4 Pro 3
Gotta love RCs!!!!!!!

[InfinatyBPS]

I started out with a cheap wal-mart car, and then found a guy selling his Pro Rc for like $300. Kinda the same way I went in paintball. But anyways, I still have that Dang RC 10 D/S under my bed wiht like 6 different motors, 1 brand new never used, i think its an oval man or somthing, and i have a brand new body for it, a 32 ford truck, and some other stuff, i should realy get it out and start racing it again. But I think it is way obsolete, does anyone even know what im talking about? Do any of u guys know if the RC 10 DS's are obsolete yet? Its been like 3 or 4 years i beleive.

[InfinatyBPS]

there are so many hobby shops around, here is one of them... http://hobby-world.com
Check out the off road track...

[rifleman]

I'm kinda between going electric and nitro right now; what do you think for the new guy? models?

One guy I talked to said he's gotten 7 gallons out of one of his motors and hasn't rebuilt it yet, while another guy said he's gotten 1.5 gallon and one of his wore out.




Adam

[Sir. Foxalot]

Heres my 2 cents:
Start with electric just because they are cheaper and easier to maintain. Then if you still want to get more into Rcs get a Nitro car.

As Far as starter cars The Traxxas rustler is a good beginerr car. Its simple and easlily upgradeable. However it isnt very competitive

A more comprehesive Electric car would be like the Rc10B3. It is a buggy as opposed to the traxxas truck and is more competitive but a little more complicated. I havesome friends getting rid of their elecric cars email me dastupidfoxrat@aol.com if you want me to you up with them.

I started with the Traxxas Electric Rustler and loved(ed) it. But I started to get more and more competitive and moved on but its a good place to start!

[Thor the Mighty]

awe man! i havnt been doing the rc thing forever! wow this thread brings back memories of all the technical stuff! i have an hpi pro1,pro2 and some sort of mt thing.

get hpi stuff they never break

[XR4]

I worked in a hobby shop for three years during high school, so I used to answer these questions a few times a day. Start with an electric truck. Gas is cool, but requires much more maintenence. It'll take you a while to get the hang of keeping any real R/C car running, not including the added complexity of a gas motor.

Personally, I don't like traxxas. They're definately better than cheaper Kyosho cars, but they're not as durable as better Losi or Associated machines. I know some people like Traxxas, but by the time you put aluminum shocks, bearings, heavy duty diff gears, and a slipper clutch on a rustler you've spent more than a XXXT and still don't have as nice a truck. I can't count how many times I've opened up traxxas diff cases to replace shreaded gears. To make it worse, its not an easy diff case to open. I don't know much about the T-Maxx, I'm told its better.

Gas motor longevity completely depends on proper break in and always running good fuel, somewhat rich. If you don't break the motor in properly or run it too lean, you'll wear it out quickly. It may take as much as half a gallon to break in properly so if you only get 1.5 gallons there's no way it was broken in properly. Everyone is worried about proper fuel nitro level. It doesn't matter as much as a fuel's oil percentage. Always run a fuel with at least 10% oil. If the bottle doesn't say, don't buy it.

As far as other cars, Thor is right about HPI stuff. I've got a Pro original and a Nitro RS4. Durable, fast, with lots of upgrades. If you want a truck, look at the MT.

Infinaty, the RC 10DS was obsolete when it was released. A good durable car, but ancient RC 10 underpinnings made it heavy and two wheel drive made it uncompetitive. Still a fine car for bashing around parking lots.

Right now I've got a Tamiya Clod Buster, Tamiya bruiser, HPI RS4 nitro, RS4 Pro, Thunder Tiger Mirage 1/8th scale, Graupner 1/5 motorcycle, Graupner 7 cell hydroplane, and Losi LXT. I should never have worked in a hobby shop. I don't use any of them as much as I'd like, so I'll put most up for sale soon. Let me know if you're interested.

Later,
XR

[FooTemps]

Jus wonderin but... How do the tamiya r/c's compare up to other r/c's?

[Sir. Foxalot]

Tamiya are so so it depends... some of their upper class cars are ok but the economical ones arent that good. Associated is better and traxxas is to probbaly

[FooTemps]

Then what about HPI?

[Sir. Foxalot]

HPI is a great company I love their products!!!

[RTMAGBOY13]

team losi are kewl i was gonna get one but this kid i no is a ***** he gets cranky when someone copies him

(big woopededy %$@#en do)

id rather spend my money on pb stuff ne way

[media]

I have a kindwald edition losi triple x. But since I just moved from Denver to Arkansas, I'm now 150 miles away from the closest offroad track.
If you are going to buy an rc car for racing I'd suggest watching a night of races at a track you plan to race at. See what cars are competitive on that track. My old track in Denver was pretty much "owned" by losi cars and trucks.
With brushless motor technology finally comming to electrics, I'd choose them over nitro. Maybe some day we'll have fuel cells for cars and r/c cars and gas engines will go the way of the dinosaurs.

[Russ]

One thing no one has mentioned is it takes a lot of skill to race an R/C car. I'm not talking about driving one by yourself in a sand pit or parking lot, but actually racing with it against other like-minded folk. If you can't drive, you'll piss a lot of people off, real quick. Repairs get expensive.

That being said, start with an electric car. Learn how to drive it well. Then compete. There's nothing like it. Very exciting. I raced carpeted and asphalt ovals for a few years with electric 1/10th scale "pan cars" I did some dirt buggy racing, but it wasn't very popular around my area.

Be warned, it can get very expensive.

[cphilip]

Hey not to change the subject but I ahve some stuff of this I need to unload. Sell cheap that is. Electric.

Let see...

The radio itself fully working needs new antenna but the one on it works juat the tip is snapped off.
The Truck (Tamiya?)Off Road Racing truck with two bodies (Ford Big Foot and Dodge in green), two sets wheels and two motors stock and upgrade one in it.
Complete parts kit all the small screws and such.
I got some Diff Grease too.
Four or Five batteries but I doubt all of them are good as theya re old but I bet two or three at least are.
The Charger works off of AC or DC and has the discharge cycle on it.

I will sell cheap. As you know this is like over $500 bucks worth of stuff. Let's hear some numbers!

[media]

As far as expense for offroad racing, with losi or associated (two of the highest quality r/c car manufactures), breaking parts was quite uncommon. The latest vehicles can take an amazing amount of punishment.
The most expensive part of off road racing for me was tires.
A set of racing tires cost about 25 bucks. They rarely lasted more than one race weekend.

I don't recall many people getting pissed at newbie racers at my old track. Most skilled drivers knew how to take corners if they thought a newbie behind them was going to ram them or how to get around them. New drivers eventually learned throttle control and people with bad attitudes towards newcomers really weren't welcome at the track.

[deded]

I just got into R/C too!

Actually... I'm not in yet... but I just ordered my brand new RS4 rtr 3! I decided to put off the HALO for another week or two, and try something else for a change!

Anyway, its an rs4 rtr 3... the newest thing from HPI, with the dodge stratus body.

I'm also getting the HPI nitro starter kit, it comes with fuel, glow plugs, cleaner and a glow plug wrench. I haven't ordered it yet though, because I'll have to get that at a different store, and the best price I can find so far is $50. <--- do you think this is what I should do? Or should I buy all of that stuff seperately.

Is there a good forum around? I have yet to find one that has more then like 9 posts in the past 6 months. Maybe I could get fuel/glow plugs/etc. there!

I can't wait for it to come, I'm sooooo excited!

[FooTemps]

I'm probably gonna buy a tamiya TB EVO 2... Then maybe an hpi nitro car or losi off road car...

[media]

FYI, brushless motors are comming out, but you have to use a special electronic speed control designed for them. So if you are considering a race car you might want to wait on buying the electronics for it. Brushless motors are many times more trouble free than conventional r/c motors. They're more efficent and faster too. My xxx sits unused cause I don't want wear my modified racing motor out playing with it, but when I get my hands on a brushless set up, I'll put some miles on it.